Manor ISD: Partnering with Integral Care to Reduce Barriers to Students Getting Support

In this series, we’ll highlight impactful mental and behavioral health best practices across Texas to inspire schools interested in developing similar opportunities for youth. 

The team at Manor ISD (MISD) partnered with Integral Care, the Local Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disability Authority for Travis County, to expand access to mental health care for students and families and remove barriers that made accessing support difficult. As student needs continued to grow, long waitlists, transportation challenges, and navigating unfamiliar systems outside of school often stood in the way.  

Manor ISD’s goal was to make support accessible, timely, and integrated into spaces where students already felt safe. By embedding clinicians directly on K–12 campuses, the district has been able to meet students where they are — both physically and emotionally — while strengthening the district’s broader Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). 

Integral Care serves as one of MISD key Tier 2 and Tier 3 partners within the district’s MTSS framework, helping ensure students receive the level of support that best meets their needs. 

When considering the Texas School Mental Health Framework, MISD plan addresses multiple components of a comprehensive school mental health system, including positive youth development, positive behavior interventions and supports, safe and supportive school climate, and managing emotions and decision-making skills. 

Check out our conversation with Karen Terrell, Project AWARE Coordinator for Manor ISD. 

What makes this partnership with Integral Care so impactful for Manor ISD? 

Karen: For us, it really comes down to access. When students need support, they don’t have to leave campus or wait months for care. They can walk down their school’s hallway and talk to a clinician in a space that already feels familiar and safe. 

That makes a huge difference. When help is right there, it removes so many barriers — transportation, scheduling, stigma. It makes support feel normal and reachable.  

Beyond direct services, Integral Care also plays a role in broader district efforts like mental health awareness events, crisis response, safety planning, and suicide prevention. So, they’re not just supporting individual students — they’re helping strengthen our mental health system across the district and within the community. 

What steps did Manor ISD take to implement the partnership? 

Karen: From the start of the partnership, we worked closely with Integral Care. We shared what we were seeing across campuses — referral trends, student data, crisis patterns, and district-wide mental health priorities. 

That collaboration allowed them to adjust staffing, service delivery, and campus operations so clinicians were placed where they were needed most. Once they’re on campus, they’re truly part of our system – they have their own space, access to our systems, even district email. They truly feel like they’re part of our system and not something separate.  

What kind of impact has the partnership had on students and families? 

Karen: We’ve seen meaningful changes in student attendance, behavior, and student engagement. Clinicians work closely with students to set individualized goals using a person-centered approach, rather than a one-size-fits-all model. 

Families often tell us they feel heard, supported, and respected throughout the process. From our surveys, 87% of students who received Integral Care services said the support helped them, which tells us this work is making a real difference in students’ day-to-day lives. 

In addition to individual counseling, group services help reduce isolation and build peer support, giving students opportunities to connect with others who may be facing similar challenges. 

How does Integral Care’s work complement other efforts happening across Manor ISD? 

Karen: Integral Care serves as one of our main on-campus behavioral health providers, offering both in-person and virtual therapy options so students and families have flexibility in how they access care. In addition to individual counseling, group services help reduce isolation and build peer support among students. 

One thing that’s especially important is continuity. Their services don’t stop when school does. They continue during holidays and throughout the summer, which is often when students need support the most. Mental health doesn’t pause just because the school calendar does and having that consistency really matters for our students. 

This flexibility allows us to meet students where they are — whether they need in-person, virtual, short-term, or more intensive support — and strengthens our comprehensive, multi-tiered mental health system across a diverse student population. 

How does your team track success and student outcomes? 

Karen: We track referrals, service engagement, and progress monitoring data through both our MTSS systems and Integral Care’s reporting tools. Integral Care provides regular reports on students served, interventions delivered, and outcomes. 

Having that data helps us see what’s working, where students are making progress, and where we may need to adjust to better support student well-being.

How did the Integral Care partnership get started?  

Karen: The partnership actually began in 2014, when Integral Care launched school-based services through Medicaid waiver funding. Even then, there was a clear need for more specialized mental health support for students. 

Over time, as we saw increases in anxiety, depression, and other emotional needs, it became clear that campus-based staff alone couldn’t fully meet the growing demand. Having clinicians on campus gave us additional capacity and immediate access to care. 

When Manor ISD later began participating in the AWARE Texas Grant, Integral Care was a natural partner to continue and strengthen that work. Their mission and expertise aligned closely with what we were trying to accomplish, especially for students with more significant emotional or behavioral needs. 

What funding did you use to support this effort? 

Karen: Because Integral Care serves as the Local Mental Health Authority for Travis County, they’re able to leverage Medicaid and state funding streams to provide school-based behavioral health services. 

This currently allows Manor ISD to operate under a no-cost agreement while still expanding access to mental health supports — without placing additional financial strain on the district’s budget. 

What have you learned from this partnership, and what advice do you have for others who want to try something similar? 

Karen: One of the biggest lessons is that strong partnerships are built on trust, flexibility, and integration into school systems. Having clinicians embedded on campus allows students to build relationships and get support before challenges escalate. 

My advice to other districts is to choose partners who are willing to adapt to your student population and align with your existing frameworks. When partnerships are done well, they improve student outcomes and allow school counselors and social workers to focus their time where it’s needed most — creating a stronger, more sustainable mental health system overall. 

Another powerful benefit is that families often get connected to community resources beyond the school setting — support not just for students, but for caregivers and adults as well. That kind of connection strengthens the entire community and makes the work even more impactful. 

Stay tuned for more mental health best practices 

We want to give a huge thank you to Karen for taking the time to chat with us about Manor ISD’s Integral Care partnership, and also to Integral Care for their collaboration, including sharing data and photos for this article. It’s inspiring to see the real and lasting impact this partnership is having across the district!

Our Texas School Mental Health website gives school mental health leaders the tools they need to develop a comprehensive school mental health system. Visit our best practices page to learn more about resources and programs for schools.